The majority of the nearly 50,000 celebrants at the Burning Man counter-culture event have been re-adjusting for two weeks to the real world of running water, cubicles and commutes. With the week-long party in the Nevada desert in the rearview mirror, how green was the burn?

Supporters and critics of the festival of radical self-expression anticipated that this year's Green Man theme would set the ephemeral city apart from those of the past. Many hoped that Burning Man would clean up its act, show off promising clean technologies and set a fresh example for eco-friendly events. Others accused festival planners of hypocrisy, pandering to the green chic trend and corporate interests by inviting green tech companies to participate.
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As a first-time Burner, I've finally shaken the playa dust from my shoes and mind to conclude that it was perhaps the most and the least eco-friendly mega-event I've attended. Tom Price, Burning Man's environmental director and one of four staff members charged with greening Black Rock City, acknowledged some of the contradictions.

"The idea of making a temporary city in the middle of nowhere is inherently unsustainable," he said. "That said, if we start from the assumption that the thing is inherently wasteful and consumptive, then it's that much more of a success when we're actually able to mitigate the impact."
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